DIVA’S ISLE

Evening Star, Issue 21784, 28 July 1934, Page 2

DIVA’S ISLE

LEGENDARY TALES AND EPISODES la his delightful novel, ‘ Macleod of Dare,’ William Black makes frequent allusions to Ulva, and descants oh the fine prospect which it commands: the slopes of Mull, the open sea, and the bounie bends of skerry-dotted Loch Tuath. He could scarcely have chosen a more fitting subject for the exercise of his rare descriptive . gifts. From every coign of vantage the scenery is of enchanting loveliness. Ulva lies to the west, of Mull, from which it is separated by a. narrow channel. Its length from east to west is five miles, and its maximum breadth about two and a-half> miles. It is distinguished by grand basaltic colonnades and picturesque combinations of these with amorphous masses of trap. Dr Macculloch describes its ranges as being almost as regular as those of Staffs, although on a much more modest scale, in many places they present , elegant and pleasing compositions, and in number, extent, and tout ensemble deserve, perhaps, as much attention "as tho Giant’s Causeway.

Had they been the only basaltic columns on the coast, they would, perhaps, have acquired the fame that they merit, but they are eclipsed by the superior lustre of the Staffa formations. “ As Jong as man is content to foliow the individual that .first led the way t ” says a well-known writer, “ so long will the beauties pf Ulva he consigned to popular neglect.” Man is a gregarious animal, and follows his fellows-with a fidelity that never fails! MEMORABLE DRAMA. Of the numerous islets and rocks that skirt the Ulva shore, several are covered with vegetation and occupied by* sheep or cattle. . Opposite Ormaig ih Christina Skerry, on which a memorable drama .was once enacted. An industrious woman Visiting her dairy missed one of her best kebbocks. Suspecting a young girl, ■ she accused her of the theft, but the charge was stoutly denied. In order to extort a confession the . guid wife seized the maiden, wrapped a plaid round her neck, dragged her to an adjacent rock, and Jet her down from the verge. Unfortunately the shawl tightened, and strangulation took place. 'The woman was inconsolable, for, to.add to h er sorrows, the lassie was a relative of her own. In a short time the neighbours gathered and regarded her with repulsion and wrath. Nothing that she could urge in extenuation would avail, and she was given no formal trial. IShe wag bound in a large sack, carried to the neatest shore, and placed on a rock covered by the sea at-high water. •' There she was , left to her fate. Her name was Christina, and the skerry is.named after her to this day. 1 , The ruins of an old church found at Kilviccuen, the ordinary cemetery of the island, dates from • pre-Reforj-naiioa days, and its bell was unearthed in the ’thirties of last century. William Black was not the only literary celebrity that: was captivated by Ulva, Thomas Campbell knew it well, and was greatly impressed by its fiiio natural features not less its wealth of legendary lore. He whs often in tho island during the five that he acted as tutor at Suriipol. gome ten or twelve miles distant,' and connected it with one of his most exquisite ballads, ‘Lord UHin’s Daughter.’ - LORD ULLIN’S DAUGHTER. As everybody knows. Loch Gyle stands for Lock nan Ceall, a somewhat wide and exposed - inlet which pierces Mull at a point slightly south-oast of Ulva. The local story is to tlio effect that Lord Ullin’s daughter lived at Knock House, at the head of Loch nan Ceall, and that she and her lovecr-Mac-quarrie of Ulva—Were lOttg pursued among the wild fastnesses of Den More and neighbouring 1u115..: ■ Eventually they embarked -at.. Gribun; arid were wrecked on a reef (still called Macquarrie’s Rock), situated halfway across the loch arid visible only at low water. The lady’s body was.washed ashore and buried in a little cemetery, which is still pointed out' about half a mile to the east of UlviV Ferry, The island was visited by Dr . Johnson and Sir Wajtter Scott during their respective tours of the West, but they left no mark behind them except an appreciation of the laird’s'hospitality and his natural courtliness' arid ‘ tact. They expressed - admiration ■of - liiq great learning and intelligence, while scraps of the 'conversation which ■ passed between them were placed on record. . While Dr Johnson passed *l’° nigLt at tho island house, Scott, when lie came, slept at the inn. Landifig at Salen, Mull, the visitor • from the south can quickly drive to Ulva, skirting Loch nan Ceall for a considerable part of the way. The distance is only a matter of a few miles, but the journey may be continued by Kilhrennan. Torloisk, and Depyaig, and ended at Tobermory, ten miles from Salen, By this short tour, most of the North of Mull will be brought under the review, 'arid thefseenery everywhere is majestic and beautiful. _ Ulva is the ppirit of interest m this district, so fai’ as literary and romantic associations are concerned, just as lona fills up the foreground of the canvas which embodies the southern section of thfe major island, By_ land_ and sea these places abound in inspiring sights and memories.—A.M.E.